National Police Association

NPA is a staunch defender of pro-active policing; where police work to prevent crime by questioning suspicious people on the street and at traffic stops, by enforcing laws such as vandalism, loitering, littering because it’s been shown when people can get away with breaking minor laws they feel more comfortable committing major crimes like robbery, assault, and murder.

NPA Produces Radio Public Service Announcement to Help Communities Reduce Crime

The message in the new radio public service announcement produced by NPA is: call your mayor, county executive and police if you see even minor crimes being committed in your neighborhood. Why is it important to report crimes like vandalism, loitering, drinking in public? It’s been shown in scientific studies that when minor crimes go unreported then major crimes like burglary, assault, and auto theft will follow. If you have a connection with your local radio station please ask them to run our PSA. We can provide the station with a broadcast quality copy. You can listen to the NPA Radio PSA here.

NPA Launches National Effort to Show Appreciation to Local Law Enforcement

It’s been a tough couple years for local law enforcement. Groups like Antifa and Black Lives Matter have inspired people to assassinate cops on the street. Soft on Crime groups are targeting record numbers of individual law enforcement officers in law suits for police brutality. And cops are facing increasing disrespect on the streets as criminals have become emboldened by the wave of anti-cop rhetoric in the news media and by many politicians.

Most law enforcement officers don’t do their job for the money. They do it because they’re committed to serving their communities and when they’re up against the kind of hostility they’ve faced for the last couple years it really takes its toll on morale.

All of this is why NPA has launched a nationwide effort to show our law enforcement officers that we appreciate their service and support their efforts to protect our families and our communities. Through our campaign we are collecting tens of thousands of “Pledge of Support Cards”, packing them up and sending them to police departments around the nation. If you haven’t signed and returned one of our Cards drop a handwritten note to your local police chief or sheriff. Tell them how much you appreciate their work and ask the Chief to post your note on the bulletin board.

"National Police Association filed a brief in support of Ferguson's position that Johnson was not seized. Lawyers for NPA said consequences for police officers' ability to know how to do their jobs were 'of the utmost importance.'"

Defendants are Patient Zero of the Ferguson effect

The Ferguson effect is a term coined by then chief of the St. Louis police, Doyle Sam Dotson III. In an interview published in the in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Dotson explained that, after the protests in Ferguson caused by the shooting of Michael Brown that August, his officers had been hesitant to enforce the law due to fears of being charged, and that "the criminal element is feeling empowered" as a result. Dotson used the phrase "Ferguson effect' to describe the state of affairs. [1] The term was soon after popularized by Thomas W. Smith Fellow of the Manhat-tan Institute, author and lawyer, Heather Mac Donald, in her May 29, 2015, Wall Street Journal op-ed [2] and her book The War on Cops. [3]

The fear by cops of being criminally charged for doing their jobs comes despite the fact that the then Ferguson po-lice officer Darren Wilson, who shot Michael Brown in the incident that was the progenitor for what was to become known as the Ferguson effect, was not criminally charged. Rather, the shots fired by Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014 were found by the Obama Administration’s Department of Justice to be not objectively unreasonable uses of force under 18 U.S.C. § 242. [4]

The Department of Justice report, however, was released on March 4, 2015, almost seven full months after the inci-dent in question. In those seven months a media narrative of police misconduct had become so prevalent as to em-bolden suspects to refuse to comply with officer's commands, instigate violence against officers and bring civil ac-tions against police causing a corresponding reduction in proactive law enforcement by agencies across the country.

Personal testimonies of this police fear were collected and published January 11, 2017 in a study by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center. [5] The report, titled, Behind the Badge, which includes feedback from 8,000 officers and sheriff’s deputies quantifies just how pervasive the Ferguson effect has become. More than three-quarters of U.S. law enforcement officers surveyed said they are reluctant to use force when necessary, and 72% advise they or their fellow officers are more hesitant to stop and question people who seem suspicious.

The thinking of the offenders who have taken advantage of the Ferguson effect was detailed in a FBI study written in April 2017, titled The Assailant Study Mindsets and Behaviors. [6] The study on 2016’s killings of police found officers are de-policing due to worries that anti-police activism is the new norm.

The report examined 50 of the 2016 confrontations in which officers were murdered. The assailants inspired by social and/or political reasons believed that attacking police officers was their way to get justice for those who had been, in their view, unjustly killed by law enforcement, the study reported. The killers revealed their feelings toward police comes in part from what they heard and read in the media about other incidents involving law enforcement shootings.

The results of the police fear detailed in the Pew Research Center poll and the offender aggression studied in the FBI’s Assailant study are manifested in the FBI's annual Crime in the United States report, released in September 2017. [7] The report detailed corresponding increases in homicides in 2016 with cities that had experienced riots and demonstrations against police. Chicago's 765 2016 homicides represented an 86% increase in just two years. And Chicago was not alone. Six more cities demonstrated a jump in homicides between 2014 (year Zero for the Ferguson effect) and 2016. Dallas recorded 171 murders in 2016 which was a 47% increase from 2014. Like Dallas and Chi-cago, St. Louis, Baltimore, Charlotte, and Milwaukee all saw major homicide increases. And like Dallas and Chica-go, have been the scene of large anti-police protests making unfounded claims of unjustified police killings.

As acknowledged by the FBI in its investigation of the incident upon which this suit is brought, there was no bad faith on the part of Darren Wilson in his actions that day. It is of paramount importance to police officers and the communities they serve that the false narrative that has arisen from the events of that day be corrected. Allowing the defendants’ motion to dismiss in this matter is a small but important first step in that correction.

The National Police Association Files Amicus Brief in Support of Dismissing Suit Against Former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson and Others

Here is the amicus brief NPA filed in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in the case Dorlan Johnson vs. The City of Fergusson Missouri; Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, and Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. This is an extremely important case for law enforcement officers nationwide and for people like you and I who want our communities to be safe because if the case is decided against the Ferguson police department it could unleash an avalanche of frivolous lawsuits against law enforcement officers nationwide. These lawsuits would drastically cut back on the ability of law enforcement to protect our communities from dangerous criminals and terrorism. Thanks to the support of NPA donors we were able to get this amicus brief prepared and filed with the 8th Circuit.

Crime rates are going upHere's what you can do to protect yourself

As a pedestrian:

Never pull out a wallet with credit cards or cash in front of someone you regard as suspicious.

Always carry a cell phone and know how to dial 911.

Don’t display an expensive cell phone on the street in a dangerous neighborhood or it could tempt someone to steal it from you. If you need to use your cell phone go into a store or other safe public space.

Act confidently like you know where you’re going and don’t talk on your phone or listen to music while walking.

Do not give money to anyone when asked. Say “NO” and continue walking

Turn stone rings toward palm side of your hand.

If you are robbed, do not resit give up your valuables as quickly as possible.

Sit near the front of the bus or subway.

Don’t walk or jog early in the morning or late in the evening.

Keep a whistle on your key chain.

Do not get into unmarked taxis.

In a restaurant keep your purse in your lap or at your feet with the handle under the leg of the chair.

At work put your purse or wallet in a drawer.

In your car:

Never leave your keys in the car ignition.

Leave at least a car length between you and the car in front so you can easily pull away in the event a car behind tries to trap you.

Keep doors and windows locked.

If someone wants to speak with you speak with the window down just an inch or so.

If you get a flat tire in a bad neighborhood drive slowly on the flat until you get somewhere you feel safe.

Do not keep valuables in your car.

Park in well lit places.

At home:

Over 65% of the time a burglar will get into your home through an unlocked door or window so keep all doors and windows locked.

Make sure you have a solid wood or metal door, high quality door frames, and deadbolt locks on your door.

Keep doors and windows locked.

Hitting the panic button on your car will set off an alarm that can scare away someone trying to break into your home.

When you are away from home make sure you give the impression that someone is there by putting lights on timers, having a neighbor pick up your newspapers and mail.

Secure window air conditioners to prevent them form being pulled out or pushed in.

If you live in an apartment only buzz people in if you are sure of their identity and don’t let strangers in behind you. If other apartment resident let people in behind them report them to the apartment manager.

Treat your garage door opener the same way you would treat the key to your home. Burglars can break into your car and use a garage door opener that is on the dash or on asset to gain entry to your garage and also into your home.

Your Local Police Department Needs Volunteers

Every year our local police are being asked to do more and more yet with budgets being cut they must do more with less. You can assist your local police, serve your community, and meet new friends by becoming a volunteer at your local police department.

Here are some of the duties volunteers are often asked to do by local police:

Fingerprinting

Neighborhood radar speed checking

Check on abandoned vehicles

Phone crime victims to answer questions

Doing home safety checks for vacationing homeowners

Assisting with special events

Doing bike patrols in community parks

Compile crime statistics in the community

Writing citations for handicapped parking violations

Helping with neighborhood watch

Assisting with search and rescue

Verifying vehicle window tints

Logging evidence

Tour guides

Take police reports

Working on cold case files

Assist with missing persons searches

Locate and recover surveillance video

Here are the professional backgrounds of volunteers that police departments especially need:

Religious leaders who can assist with Chaplain programs

Security specialists who can conduct security reviews at schools and other institutions

Individuals proficient in another language to help with translation

Mental Health Professionals who can counsel victims of crime

Veterinarians to provide care for police canine units

Banking and financial experts to assist with financial fraud and identity theft cases

Illustrators to do composite drawings of suspects

Dog trainers to assist with police canine units

Computer programmers

Call or visit your local Police Department today and learn more about becoming a volunteer.

Table of Jurisdictions that have Enacted Policies which Limit Cooperation with ICE

Jurisdiction (AOR)

Date Enacted

Policy

Criteria for Honoring Detainer

Ithaca, New York (Buffalo)

February 2017

Municipal Code Change

Will only honor “warrantless detainer requests from the federal government under limited, specified circumstances” such as violent or serious crimes or terrorist activities

Travis County, Texas (San Antonio)

January 2017

Travis County Sheriff’s Office Policy on Cooperation with U.S.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Willing to accept requests accompanied by a court order

Willing to accept requests when the subject of the detainer request is charged with or has been convicted of Capital Murder, First Degree Murder, Aggravated Sexual Assault, or Continuous Smuggling of Persons

Iowa City, Johnson County, Iowa (Saint Paul)

January 2017

Resolution Reaffirming the Public Safety

Function of Local Law Enforcement

Willing to only accept some requests for notifications, I-247N form.

Boulder County, Colorado (Denver)

January 2017

Boulder Municipal Code Title 12, Chapter

12-5

Will not honor ICE detainers unless ICE has an arrest warrant for an individual